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Friday, November 09, 2012

Hedonism was also discussed by Woods. James A. Montmarquet defined
Hedonism in the following way: "the view that pleasure (including the
absence of pain) is the sole intrinsic good in life." Montmarquet (1996:
311).

Woods provided a similar definition: "Hedonism is a broad
term used to encompass all theories that see pleasure as the ultimate
goal of life and criterion for conduct. Anything that is fun is good.
Anything that is not fun is bad and should be avoided." Woods
(1974)(1982: 18). Basically, Hedonism sees pleasure as the most
important thing in reality. Interestingly, Woods mentioned Playboyism,
and stated of Hugh Hefner, Publisher of Playboy Magazine: "Hefner
rejects any philosophy that holds a man must deny himself for others.
The Playboy outlook says a man should love himself preeminently and
pursue only his own pleasure." Woods (1974)(1982: 108).

Woods
noted that happiness should be a result of a responsible life. Hedonism
is not responsible since ones pleasure often exists at the expense of
someone else’s pain. For example, considering Playboy, where women are
viewed as objects sexually by both Hefner and the willing women
participating, this magazine brings its participants money, fame and
sexual gratification, but the Playboy philosophy represented in the
magazine, through mass media influence, also causes women in society to
be viewed as objects by many men. This can cause many women to be
overlooked for their intellect, and looked upon more for their sexual
beauty.

So, in a subtle fashion, the Playboy philosophy can bring
pain to many people in society because Playboy Magazine exploits
sexuality when, in reality, sexuality belongs in the context of
marriage/committed relationship where the inner beauty of the person is
more important than their outer image. With the Playboy philosophy, the
outer beauty is far more important than the inner beauty.

It must
be admitted that Hedonism is pleasurable to people. For example, as a
pastor of a local church recently stated, most men struggle with
pornography at some time. An advocate of the Playboy philosophy may
state that its critics secretly desire that lifestyle. There can be an
element of truth in this, but a wiser person, and certainly a
Christ-centred person, should see that sexual conduct outside of a
healthy marriage can lead to many destructive things such as divorce,
abortion, venereal disease, HIV, and public disgrace. Only sexuality in
commitment leads to something fulfilling over a long period.

The
Hedonism represented with Playboy is irresponsible in that it hurts
people and puts short term pleasure before long term fulfilment. Thus,
it escapes the struggle of a serious relationship leading to long term
fulfilment and instead seeks easier, shorter relationships. This, in no
way, avoids evil. It simply promotes more evil in that extreme human
selfishness just leads to more people being hurt.

Blackburn's definition is one of seeking pleasure as an end in itself, with the view that such a pursuit is the proper aim of all action. Blackburn (1996: 168). He seems to indicate that hedonism is generally not concerned morally with others as in friendship or even less of a concern, although there are attempts to align hedonism and selfishness with concern for others. Blackburn (1996: 168).

I reason hedonism, in the context discussed, is anti-Biblical and something which is a struggle for most persons and most Christians. I do not follow a Playboy philosophy, bookmark or collect pornography, but like many persons reading that are online often, it is on many websites and ads, as it is also on television. Jesus and the Apostles in places such as Matthew 5 and 1 Corinthians 7 highlighted the impossible standards of holiness God set, therefore the need for atonement, and yet in today's Western world, it is philosophically rather easy for even the Christian to follow along with the fallen nature and societal standards (Christian and secular) rather than the Holy Spirit and give into hedonism on many levels virtual and actual. I state this as a fallen human being saved by grace through faith and as a theologian and philosopher, not being judgmental at all, because I too struggle with sin.

Seems to me though that philosophical excuses that allow for hedonism in the Christian life need to be abandoned and this is often a major life challenge because this may require some very difficult changes in prayer and action, going against sinful nature, going against culture (Christian and secular), etc, not necessarily or idealistically apart from much quality Biblical Christian community. But I deduce to not so is to potentially set one up for more trouble in the future, sort of a sin snowball effect.

'In modern life, there are issues which the true value artificially discounted. These topics include virginity. Someone to virginal purity applies to remnants of the past, someone like a trifle, not worth even paid someone as an unfortunate misunderstanding, and even vice, and someone as a great gift, but the latter is less and less . Let's see, what is virginity, the pros and cons of its presence or absence.'

Good post. I learn something totally new and challenging on blogs I stumbleupon every day. It will always be interesting to read through articles from other writers and use a little something from other websites.

Thank you for your post. I agree with you that pleasure derived from virtue is more desirable than temporal and "fleshy" pleasures. I also would like to draw attention to the relational dimension in pornography that is missing as an evidence that something is wrong with the picture already. If we could see what is lost, missing, or damaged by seeking fulfillment this way, I am sure we would hold out for something much more palatable, more pleasurable and appropriate to us as human creatures, even healthy :)

We know that there are many things in our lives that we consume that give us a great feeling, very quickly, and we allow ourselves to be tricked into thinking we will not have to "pay" for this later. Food, alcohol, candy - any of these can cause health problems if they are not used in moderation. I believe the feelings around sexual attraction to be natural, and -even- good. The point of moderation needs to be made in relation to our desires, i.e. do not entertain sexual thoughts when they come into your mind, and do not allow yourself to give in, to be seduced, as in Prov.7:22, "All at once he followed her, like an ox going to the slaughter [...] Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death." I don't really want to go there! So the warning is greater than that of chocolate, but somewhat similar to the warning about excessive drinking (Proverbs 23:29-35).

'I also would like to draw attention to the relational dimension in pornography that is missing as an evidence that something is wrong with the picture already. If we could see what is lost, missing, or damaged by seeking fulfillment this way, I am sure we would hold out for something much more palatable, more pleasurable and appropriate to us as human creatures, even healthy :)'

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Hey pleasure is pleasurable, but is all pleasure good for us, uhhh No, Therefore hedonism although an intriguing philosophy to incorporate into one's lifestyle is not a philosophy that a person should live by.-Hedon'tism-

'Anonymous said...Hey pleasure is pleasurable, but is all pleasure good for us, uhhh No, Therefore hedonism although an intriguing philosophy to incorporate into one's lifestyle is not a philosophy that a person should live by.-Hedon'tism-'

I agree. I did have a professor at CBC that did teach Christian hedonism, but that would be based on Biblical values.

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